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DOST intensifies climate watch as El Niño looms over Eastern Visayas
The Department of Science and Technology is ramping up weather monitoring across Eastern Visayas as an intensifying El Niño pattern threatens agricultural output and water security in the region. Officials are rushing to equip farmers with localized weather data to mitigate crop losses.
LSN Philippines ·
TACLOBAN CITY — The Department of Science and Technology's Eastern Visayas office is bolstering its climate surveillance operations and expanding real-time weather information services to help farmers prepare for the mounting El Niño threat gripping the region.
DOST-8 Regional Director Glenn Ocaña said the agency is prioritizing agriculture, recognizing that farming communities across Eastern Visayas face heightened vulnerability to the dry-season weather pattern. Many smallholder farmers in the region lack access to timely, location-specific weather forecasts needed to adjust planting schedules and irrigation practices.
The enhanced monitoring initiative aims to provide farmers with granular climate data tailored to their localities, allowing them to make informed decisions about crop management and resource allocation. The DOST effort encompasses improved weather station networks and expanded dissemination of forecasts to farming communities.
Beyond agriculture, officials warned that prolonged dry conditions associated with El Niño could strain freshwater supplies and affect other economic sectors across Eastern Visayas. The DOST said strengthened climate intelligence would help the region's broader disaster preparedness framework as it braces for potential drought conditions in coming months.